


Like a River Runs

by SubwayWolf



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Holding Hands, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing Fantasies, M/M, Mild canon divergence, Sexuality Crisis, Shirtless Male Clothed Male
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-31 08:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6462655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubwayWolf/pseuds/SubwayWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's about a quarter after nine in the evening. At opposite ends of a Ugandan village, two Mormons are feeling some very new, super-weird, stress-inducing feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Who I Want You to Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Demixian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demixian/gifts).



> This is a gift for the amazing and wonderful Demixian ([tumblr](https://demixian.tumblr.com/) / [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Demixian/pseuds/Demixian))!!!!! I came across their work here on ao3 and was pretty much blown away by the canon continuations for this fandom and just overall super duper impressed by her ocs and skill for narratives and damn, just everything. And it turns out they're like the sweetest cinnamon roll in the whole world so I just NEEDED to write something and this quick little two-part thing came out of it!!!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!!!!!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _prompt: what if Elder Price didn’t leave during the scene after Sal Tlay Ka Siti? (bonus points if McKinley’s remark about the rule concerning curfews is what convinces him not to leave, since at this point he still cares about rules and guidelines more than people)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! Everyone was wearing pink sparkly vests in Turn in Off because they're all gay. Cunningham wasn't wearing one because he's ace and heteroromantic. Sorry guys I don't make the rules, those are just the facts.

It was a quarter after nine. Connor had just done roll call, like he did every evening before the mission group went to sleep for the night. The guys in his district didn’t leave the building most days. In fact, they had to draw straws every week to see who had to go to the market to get food and supplies. But the problem with the two newest members of the district was the exact opposite. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t leave, it was that they wouldn’t come back.

Curfew times were strict, because they were a matter of safety. Cunningham had been back in time but disappeared before nine – some of the other Elders said they saw him running towards the village. Before he left, Arnold had said something about him and Elder Price witnessing a murder and Price suffering a veritable mental breakdown and stammering on about going to Florida or something. 

Connor had witnessed members of his district lose it before. He had really been hoping it wouldn’t happen to Price, because Price genuinely seemed gifted and compassionate and had the potential to be a real leader. But Connor must have been wrong to get his hopes up about the guy saving the district. Because when people started to let their feelings get the better of them out here, there was no way to get their sanity to come back.

As it turned out, Connor was proven wrong on that account, too.

He was just about to call lights out when he heard Elder Thomas ask from across the room, “He’s back!?”

Disbelief stirred in the crowd of Elders, and they started muttering and whispering among themselves things like “I thought he was going home?” and “No, something about Disney Land…” and “I can’t believe he came back!”

McKinley finally looked across the room to the front door. Kevin Price was indeed standing there, looking disheveled at best, chaotic at worst. There was dried blood all across the front of his once-white shirt, his hair was a complete mess, and there was a redness in his eyes like he’d been crying.

Obviously in no mood to be talked to or talked about, Price stormed across the room and towards the solace of his living quarters.

Connor walked up to him and stood in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “You’re back,” he said to show his surprise. Kevin looked even worse up close, honestly. He looked tired and sad and scared all at once. Connor put a hand on his arm. “Hey. Wanna talk about it?”

Price shrugged him off. “No.” He swerved around Connor and continued walking to his room.

McKinley and all the others just watched in baffled silence as Price retreated to his room and slammed the door behind him. They stayed silent for a few moments after. Then another few moments. Then another.

None of them were going to say anything, so Connor sighed. “I should go talk to him about it.”

Elder Michaels looked at him with a confused side-eye. “He just said-”

“Yeah,” McKinley interrupted him. “I heard him.”

They didn’t stop him when he walked over into the hallway where the living quarters were. He didn’t knock before he entered, since he figured the worst thing he could walk in on would be Price undressing, which really wouldn’t be that bad at all.

Instead, Kevin was sitting on the foot of the bed, facing the door, just hunched over in his seat and staring at the floor sadly. He didn’t say anything to Connor and didn’t seem surprised or upset that he’d come into his room despite being asked not to.

Connor closed the door behind him so that nobody could hear them or bother them. “Hey, you,” he said softly. He went over and sat next to him, to his left, on the edge of the bed.

Kevin rubbed at his eyes, exhausted. “I had a feeling you’d come anyway,” he said with a sigh.

Technically, that wasn’t an order to leave, but it wasn’t an offer to stay, either, so Connor tried to justify himself. “You don’t look very good. Or smell too good, either.” That didn’t get a smile out of Price as he’d hoped. “How are you feeling right now?”

Kevin’s pout worsened. “Scared,” he whispered. “Really, _really_ scared.” There were tears lining his eyes, threatening to spill out any second now.

Nobody in the district was alien to that feeling, not even Connor. Some were just way better at hiding it than others. Connor was going to tell him that he would get used to it, but that didn’t seem particularly comforting right now. “Yeah,” he sighed, understanding. “Tell me about it.”

When Kevin pawed at his eyes this time, it was to try and wipe the tears away. He furrowed his brow and kept looking at the ground. “I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about things like this,” he said under his breath.

Connor smirked a little. “Well, it’s just you and me here. But don’t, you know, open your heart and tell me your life story, or anything. I’ve got enough self-pity to deal with, so I don’t need yours to cry about, too.”

Kevin finally looked at him. He had really gorgeous green eyes that were wet, glistening, and a little irritated and red around the edges, but they were pretty nonetheless. “Oh…” he mumbled sadly.

Connor waved dismissively to reassure him. “That was a joke.” He smiled to make sure Kevin took him seriously.

Kevin wasn’t buying it. “A joke, or a way to deflect how you really feel?”

Connor actually laughed. “Now you’re getting the hang of it!”

When he saw that he had made Connor laugh for real, Kevin smiled too. It was a weak little smile, but genuine nonetheless, and the tearful glisten in his eyes turned into a happy one.

But just as fast, he was looking down at the floor again, and that smile disappeared. 

Connor’s smile dropped a little too. “It took some effort to get you to smile.” He leaned over and nudge Kevin a little with his arm. “Don’t tell me I’ll have to start all over again.”

Kevin sniffled. “I’m sorry for running away.” He blinked hard, and the tears started to come out of his eyes. He immediately brought his hand up to wipe them away.

Connor put his hand on Kevin’s back and started to rub gentle circles in an attempt to ease him. He could feel how tight his muscles were, how he was obviously trying very hard to hold back sobs. “You’re here now,” he said soothingly in a soft voice.

“But I ran away,” Kevin choked out, his voice threatening to break. The hand covering his face started to tremble a little. “I let it all get to my head, I let the fear control me. I left Elder Cunningham, I left this entire district.” He held his breath for a second to try and compose himself but he just couldn’t. “I was a coward.”

Connor scooted closer to him and took him in a single-armed hug around his shoulders, pulling him close. “I don’t think that’s true. You came back, didn’t you?”

The closeness and body heat seemed to relax him, just a little. Price took a weak, staggered breath and put his hand down. “You… you said there was a curfew, so I…” He was really breaking in on himself, his stomach muscles getting tight, and he leaned over and started sobbing a little harder. He put the hand back up to cover his eyes, but there was no hiding this. “I’m s-sorry I’m late, Connor.” 

At this point, Connor’s heart was hurting too. He had to take action. He released the embrace and took Kevin’s hand, taking it away from his face so he couldn’t hide. He took Kevin’s face and turned it so he was forced to look at him. His eyes were all wet and teary and his nose was running a little, but Price finally built up the strength to look Connor in the eyes.

As soon as their gazes met, Connor spoke to him gently. “Listen to me. What matters is that you’re here. It took a lot of courage to come back. You might not feel like it, but it was brave of you, and it showed how strong you really are.”

Kevin shook his head a little. “I don’t know what to do,” he whimpered. His sobbing was easing up, but he was still a mess.

Connor released his face and sighed. “I’ll tell you what to do first.” He gestured to Kevin’s stained shirt. Being this close to him, it was easy to smell the blood on him. “You should take off that shirt. I’ll get a clean one for you.”

Though he meant nothing by that beyond its face value, Connor was rewarded for the subtext he didn’t intend. Kevin immediately began to unbutton his shirt. Connor’s head told him that he should tell Price that he didn’t have to do this now, but his heart told him to allow this to happen, so he did. 

Overreacting would make both of them feel bad, so Connor just forced himself to look away, turned, and faced the door in front of him. He was all tensed up just thinking about what was happening beside him. He knew that a really attractive man was undoing his shirt button by button, slowly and carefully, exposing skin inch by inch, but he didn’t allow himself to look. He stared at the ground, his cheeks getting a little pink. 

Connor talked to distract himself. He said whatever he could to calm Kevin’s fears once and for all. “I just want you to know that the Elders here are your friends _and_ your family now. We’ll be here for you. And we’ll keep you safe.” He swallowed hard, and his throat was turning dry.

Out of the corner of his eye, Connor could see that Price’s shirt was off and balled up in his hands. “Thank you,” Kevin said weakly, a little exasperated. “Thank you for saying that.” He turned and put the shirt on the bed behind him. “Can I hug you?”

Connor turned his head and looked at him. That was the first mistake. He nodded and said, “Sure,” and that was his second mistake. 

Kevin hugged him, and Connor hugged him back. Kevin buried his face in the crook of Connor’s neck and Connor’s heart was thumping in his chest like a bass drum falling down a flight of stairs. He could feel Kevin’s heartbeat, too, noticeably slower, and slowing down a little more as he relaxed and all his muscles loosened up. Connor could tell this because of how close they were and how he had his hands on Price’s bare back and his front side was up against Price’s chest and torso. He could feel every single function of Price’s body – his breathing, his heart rate, the tension in his muscles, everything. It was too much stimulation for Connor to handle all at once. 

This was _not fair_. Not at all. Price was _really_ good-looking. He had a handsome face and gorgeous hair and a great body and freckled shoulders and pretty green eyes. His body was just radiating heat, like it was drawing Connor towards him, and without that shirt on he smelled so clean and attractive and masculine. It just wasn’t fair at all. The worst of it was those soft pink lips; McKinley couldn’t stop thinking about kissing them…

Connor just couldn’t say no to this. His cheeks were practically burning hot, he could feel it. He’d spent so long pushing the thoughts away, he thought he was free of them, but now… _No_ , he scolded himself, _not again, don’t feel this way again-_

Kevin broke the hug by pulling back just a little, but they kept their hands on each other. Price looked down at Connor’s shoulder where he saw some wet marks his eyes and nose had made when he nuzzled his face there. “Oh, I made a mess all over your shirt.” He frowned and looked into McKinley’s eyes. “And I probably look so gross right now…”

It was way too easy. Connor wished he was stronger and could resist it but he _couldn’t_. “No.” He shook his head softly. “You look good. I like you this way.”

Kevin finally smiled again, a small and content one. He was no longer crying, and his eyes showed affection. He was blushing, too, maybe – Connor wasn’t sure if he was seeing things or if that was actually the fact.

They were so close. Connor could just lean forward and kiss him so easily… but he seized up and couldn’t move or say a word. 

Seeing that little grin on Price’s lips, it was enough, and it relaxed him all at once. Connor let out a happy sigh. “Aw. There’s that smile. I was afraid I’d never get to see it again.” He felt a degree of accomplishment in him, like he had achieved something, and he probably had. 

Kevin was very relaxed now. He kept his hands on Connor’s waist and showed no intention of moving them. His eyes were on Connor’s mouth. He licked his lips a little, and it was clear he was thinking very, very hard about what he must have been feeling – something Connor was more than familiar with.

Connor had to remove himself from this situation before it got any worse for him. “I’ll let you get some shut-eye, alright? It’s been a long day for you.” He rose from the bed and began to leave.

But Kevin’s hands trailed on him, and he lightly, barely noticeably, clutched onto the fabric of McKinley’s dress shirt and made him stay still. “Could you stay? Just for a little while longer?”

His heart fluttering mercilessly in his chest, Connor sat right back down. There was no way he could say no to that face.


	2. Take Me Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _prompt: Nabulungi’s typewriter breaks and Arnold helps her fix it_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll tell you what, writing this was definitely a well-needed break from all my wip's... they're all just stacking up on me. I wanted to do something fun!!!! and, something not nsfw because it's time to cleanse my sinful soul by abstaining from smut for 24 hours. Okay, maybe 12 hours. 6 is good...

One of the most surprising things about being in Africa was that, in the daytime, it felt like the sun was melting the skin right off your bones, but past midnight, it got so cold that you could feel the chill in your blood.

That didn’t matter when you were running as fast as your feet could take you, though. Arnold was getting sweaty and out of breath, but he knew he had to get to his destination as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to look gross or smell too badly when he got there, but he tried not to think about that because being a hero was more important than looking handsome, even if you were saving a pretty girl.

Even so, before opening the door to the hut he was like 99 percent sure was Nabulungi’s, he fixed his hair a little and tried catching his breath before knocking on the door.

Her place was small, but she must have been waiting by the door because she opened it right away, her eyes wide and her expression urgent. “Did you get my text!?”

Arnold had to pause for a second. Every time he saw her, it was like for the first time, like he’d forgotten how pretty she was and was shocked by it every time he saw her again. Of course, he _hadn’t_ forgotten, since he thought about her all the time, but it just seemed that way. “Uh, yeah,” he stammered, “it said you needed help and then cut off all of a sudden and I was worried that-”

A small frown crossed Nabu’s lips. “It broke,” she said sadly.

Arnold had no idea what she was talking about. “What?” She stepped to the side, revealing her typewriter on the ground, the bottom panel pried off to reveal the inner mechanics of the machine. “Oh.” Arnold grimaced.

She stepped back to let him inside and then closed the door after he stepped in. “That’s why the message cut out. Sorry if it was a little confusing, or if it scared you.”

The message was folded up neatly in his front pocket. A young Ugandan boy had been sent out as a messenger and gave the note to the first Mormon he saw – that happened to be Arnold. In transcript, the message read: _Dear Latter Day Saints, Hello. This is Nabulungi Hatimbi. Can you help_ , before cutting off. The note, each word spelled with different degrees of competence, was never seen by the other Mormons because Arnold had seized the opportunity to shine and came to her aid as soon as he got up the courage, which, admittedly, took him quite a while.

While Arnold was just staring at the typewriter dumbly, not sure what to do, Nabu looked at him with a degree of hope in her eyes. “Can you fix it for me?”

Arnold looked at her, then at the typewriter, then back at her. “Uh… Wait. Let me get this straight. It broke, and you’re asking _me_ to help? Of all people?”

The hope in her eyes died. “You can’t fix it?” She looked back down at the machine and sighed sadly. “Oh, alright. I guess you can leave, then.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry I called you out here so late at night.”

Arnold realized that he’d just totally crossed himself out of the picture and desperately jumped to try and get back in. “I, um – no, of course I can fix it! Of course I can!” He put a fake smile on his face and nodded his head, putting his hands on his hips to seem more proud. “I fixed these things all the time, back home. I used to, um, fix cars, computers, toilets, everything. Literally everything. I’m a handy man. You’ll see!”

She smiled back at him, overjoyed. Happiness was just radiating off of her, brighter than the flickering candles lighting up her small room. “Great!” she said in her sweet, excited voice.

Arnold’s heart rate spiked so much because of that smile that he thought he was going into cardiac arrest. “Yeah! Let me take a look.” He looked down at the typewriter and even more nervousness washed over him. “It’ll be fixed in no time,” he lied.

He sat down cross-legged in front of the typewriter and Nabulungi sat opposite him. Arnold tried his very hardest to make it look like he knew what he was doing. He pressed some of the keys, durned the dials on the side, and opened the paper clamps lining the top. He reached inside where the missing panel allowed access. He ran his fingers along the machinery, wriggled it to make sure the mechanics were nice and tight, and latched and unlatched every latch he could find. Most importantly, he made sure to put an expression on his face that made him look like he was concentrating very hard, and even stuck his tongue out a little for emphasis.

And he kept sneaking glances at Nabu. She sat watching him intently, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She seemed a little perplexed and was probably catching on that he didn’t know what he was doing, but she was patient nonetheless. And she was really so pretty sitting there, candlelight glowing off of her gorgeous skin and lighting up the curls of her hair and reflecting in the lights of her eyes. 

Arnold wanted to hear her voice, wanted to hear her talk about her village and her lifestyle and her mother and father, he could listen to her talk for hours – but how could he tell her that when every time he was close to her, he forgot how to speak?

Arnold’s body temperature was peaking. How could he have romantic feelings for someone he barely knew!? Was this like love at first sight? He’d seen and heard about it in movies but he never thought it was actually real. 

When she looked up at him with those big brown eyes, noticing that he was staring at her, he had to cover his face in his hands because he was blushing so much. “Wow, you’re so…” Every adjective in existence completely slipped his mind 

Nabu raised an eyebrow, looking over at him with concern. “Are you okay, Elder Cunningham?”

“No,” he said into his hands, then lifted his head up all of a sudden and answered, “I mean, yes! It’s just…” His tie felt particularly tight around his neck right now. “It’s hot in here! You know?”

She chuckled lightly at him, amused. “Well. This _is_ Africa. It’s hot pretty much all the time.”

Arnold’s stomach was doing flips inside of him. He prayed to Heavenly Father that he wouldn’t throw up right now. “Right.” His face was flushing even hotter when they made a little more prolonged eye contact. He looked away again. “And I had some, uh, some beans for dinner, so I’m a little gassy?”

Thankfully, Nabulungi was still smiling instead of being revolted. “Oh,” she chuckled.

Arnold sighed and took a breath to calm himself down a little bit. He tried clenching his fists but his hands were shaking a little. He tried to remember the last time he was this close to a girl and alone, and the girl wasn’t his mom. “I’m really not good at this,” he admitted, barely getting the words out.

Nabu laughed a little. Even her laugh was cheerful and bright and cute. “At what? Fixing things, or flirting?” 

The typewriter still sat between them, no closer to being repaired. Arnold frowned at it, then frowned at Nabu. “Uh… Neither?”

She seemed pleased that he was finally admitting the truth. “Well, you won’t get anything done with your hands shaking like that.” She leaned forward, reaching across the typewriter, and took his hands in hers.

Arnold couldn’t possibly fathom how being touched would make him calm down, but after a few moments of feeling dizzy, he did relax. She was warm, comforting, relaxing. She squeezed just a little tight and he squeezed back with equal pressure.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to fix it,” Nabu admitted to him with a little laugh. “I guess I just…” She swallowed and looked away, a little embarrassed. “Well, I was thinking about you. I sent the messenger out to give the note specifically to you, and I knew you would come.”

Arnold was genuinely shocked. “Me? _Me!?_ ” He was starting to question her sanity. “I, uh, I know that we Mormons all dress the same, and that me and Kevin are like the spitting image of each other, but-”

“I wanted to see you _you_ , Arnold,” Nabu promised. She looked back at him, her confidence regained. “You’re the one sitting here, aren’t you?”

Arnold tried to swallow, but his throat was dry. His heart was beating crazy fast, and it wasn’t the lasting effects of the run he just had. “Wow. Um…” 

He was absolutely, genuinely speechless. Not just at her words, but at this whole situation in general. Nabulungi was just so completely wonderful and amazing to him. How she could live in a world full of hate and horror and still put a smile on her face and the faces of others around her? It baffled him. 

He’d never expected to meet someone like her, especially not halfway across the world in a place like this. He expected even less to make eye contact with someone like her, let alone to talk to her or _touch_ her.

Then it hit him. “Oh, you don’t have glasses!” He nearly started laughing at himself, at how stupid he was to think even for a second that she really liked him. “You probably have horrible vision. Are there any ophthalmologists in Uganda?” He paused, stumped. “Or is it optometrists? I always get them confused.”

Nabu practically rolled her eyes at how befuddled he was, then released his hands. “Hm. Let me see.” She reached up and took his thick-rimmed glasses off of his face and put them on herself. She looked around the room, squinting, with a big grin on her face. “These make everything blurry! How can you see anything out of these things?”

He laughed a little, for the first time in days. “Oh man. You’re even cuter with glasses!” He squinted in an attempt to see her better. “I mean, you’re a lot blurrier, but still.” 

Nabu brought a hand up to her mouth to cover a shy laugh. Her eyes were practically sparkling through the glasses that were way too big for her face.

Fear hit Arnold all at once. “Oh, jeez. I have a curfew! I have to be back in…” He looked at his watch and immediately jumped to his feet. “Fifteen minutes ago!”

As Nabu rose to her feet and stood before him, she smiled. If Arnold had his glasses on, he’d be able to tell that her smile had a hint of disappointment in it. “That’s okay. I’ll ask one of my neighbors to help me.” She took the glasses off her face and placed them back on Arnold’s. She paused, looking at him, then reached forward again to tuck his hair behind his ears. “You should go back and get some sleep if you can.”

Arnold raised a hand up to adjust his glasses so they were the right distance up his nose. “Yeah. I’ll try.” He took a breath and smiled at her again. “See you tomorrow?”

Nabu smiled again, for real this time. ‘Sunshine’ was the first word that came to Arnold’s mind. She gave him a small nod and agreed, “Tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you ever want to prompt me anything, feel free to check out my FAQ which includes a link to contact me, right over here on my [tumblr](http://subwaywolf.tumblr.com/fics).


End file.
